Russian pilgrims killed in Ukraine bus crash

Official says driver lost control, veered off road and overturned, leaving 14 people dead.

Reports said the pilgrims were headed for the Holy Dormition Monastery in western Ukraine [Reuters]

A bus carrying Russian religious pilgrims has crashed in Ukraine, killing 14 of the 45 people on board, an official said.

Yulia Yershova, a spokeswoman for Ukraine's Emergencies Ministry, said Saturday's crash took place about 5:30am in the morning when the driver apparently lost control, veered off the road and overturned.

Yershova said another 29 people were rushed to hospital with injuries from the crash near Chernihiv, about 150km northeast of Kiev, the capital.

Russian news reports said the pilgrims were headed for the Holy Dormition Monastery in western Ukraine's Pochayev, one of the major monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.